


Day in the Life

by Comicbooklovergreen



Series: More than One Kind of Soulmate [9]
Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies), Carol (2015), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Price of Salt - Patricia Highsmith
Genre: Carol hates shopping, Christmas Fluff, Crossover, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Kid pov fic, Multi, OT3, Rindy doesn't, Stegginelli, Steve the dancing monkey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-02-19 10:35:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13121955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Comicbooklovergreen/pseuds/Comicbooklovergreen
Summary: Rindy Aird and Lizzie Rogers are best friends with very different lives, and very different experiences with their respective parents. Also, Lizzie gets to have more parents and in the same house too, not that Rindy's jealous, of course. And Lizzie's not at all jealous that Rindy gets all the attention of all of her parents and doesn't have to share with a brother she didn't ask for.Something from the children's POV, a fun little Christmas interlude.Two unconventional families form an unbreakable bond. Tracing a friendship and a family through the years.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I said after that last angsty oneshot I had something less sad in the works. I also said to myself that this whole thing would be done before or by Christmas. I am, fundamentally, a liar with terrible time management skills. So here's part one, the other two will be late. Or, as I like to call them, extensions of the holiday season.
> 
> Happy and safe holidays to everyone. Comments are presents, and I am a greedy, greedy liar who loves me some presents

"You're not dressed for work," Rindy accused Harge as she let Miss Ava help her into her seat at the breakfast table.

Harge peered at her over top of his paper, narrowing his eyes playfully, "And you're not dressed for school, are you?"

Rindy tried to mimic his expression, "I'm on school break, silly." She'd been on school break for over a week now and didn't have to go back until just after New Year’s. That meant more than two weeks of playing in the snow and staying home with Daddy and visiting Mommy and Mama, and Lizzie.

"And I'm working from home today, silly," he replied, setting his paper aside when Miss Ava returned, setting toast – dry, how icky was that? - in front of Daddy and a pink bowl full of cereal in front of her.

Her eyes widened and she heard Daddy make a funny coughing noise beside her. "Miss Ava bought Sugar Frosted Flakes," Rindy said in surprise once he'd dismissed Miss Ava with a 'thank you'.

"I told her to." He looked like he wanted to laugh as he picked up his coffee mug, "Since it is school break. They're good enough for Superman, so I'm sure they're good enough for a Princess."

"Captain America doesn't like them," Rindy told him as she took a big bite. It was better than cornflakes with sugar! When you added sugar it ended up with grainy stuff in it, but this was just sweet. She never got sweet things as breakfast.

"Another point in their favor." He smiled, winking at her as he took a drink of his coffee.

"How can you work from home?" Rindy asked after several bites, feet swinging against the chair legs.

"Miss Lilah is going to come over with some papers I need, and I have a few people that are going to stop by to talk with me in my office," he answered, folding his paper around so Rindy could see the front page that held more pictures than words, "But other than that, I'll be all yours today."

"What about when I'm not here?" Rindy asked with what she felt was a very confident voice.

"Well, once you're not here, I'm going to a Christmas party tonight," he said with a smile, "Which will be dreadfully boring without you. Miss Lilah is going to go with me to keep me company so I won't be all by myself."

"What if I have to talk to you?"

"They have a phone there. I'll make sure to write the number down for you before you leave tonight, that way you can call me any time, no matter what."

"Before I go to Mommy’s?" Rindy questioned, testing to see if he remembered. Not wanting to be forgotten, have Mommy forgotten.

"Before you go with Aunt Abby to go Christmas shopping." He emphasized the last two words, "Won't that be special?"

 "Christmas shopping for you." Rindy couldn't help but smile in return, "And Mommy, and Mam-Aunt Therese."

He never said she couldn’t call Aunt Therese that. It was only Mommy, really, who’d told her where and when it was okay. Told her that sometimes she’d have to go back to just thinking of Aunt Therese as Mama instead of saying it. Daddy never said she couldn’t, but sometimes when she did, he made a funny face. Like the one he’d made when Rindy switched the sugar for his coffee with salt.

Grandma made that face every time she talked about Aunt Therese at all. Or Mommy. Or Aunt Abby.

Rindy found it was best to play quietly with whatever new toys Grandma and Grandpa always had. If she didn’t talk about Mommy or Mama or Aunt Abby long enough, she was pretty sure they’d give her a puppy for Christmas.

"Yes, for your mother, Therese, and I." Daddy nodded.  "And then, after shopping, do you remember where you're going?"

"Home," Rindy replied quickly to help him remember, "So I can hide my presents here for Miss Ava to help me wrap, and get my stuff so I can go...where do I go?"

"To Mommy’s, for the weekend.”

“The whole weekend?”

“That’s right, a whole weekend with Mommy.”

"And Aunt Therese!”

"Yes, and Therese. And," he drew the word out, "Hmm... what was the name of that friend of yours? Lily? Iggie?"

"Lizzie!" Rindy laughed, accidentally dribbling milk that she wiped up with the back of her hand, "Not Iggie!"

“Are you sure? Are you sure she doesn’t look like an Iggie?”

“Yes! I mean no!” Rindy shook her head and pointed, even though it was rude to point at people. “She’d push you if you called her that,” Rindy said, giggling at the idea.

“Would she? Well that’s not very lady-like, is it?”

“Lizzie’s not lady-like. That’s why she’s the best.”

"Oh, I see Did you figure out what present you wanted to give her?"

"Lizzie has everything," Rindy frowned, thinking on it. Lizzie had a whole playroom, and lots of toys, and parents who could get her anything she wanted, "Maybe... do you think she'd like snow toys?"

"I bet she'd love them. Who doesn't love playing in the snow? I think they had some nice sleds downtown, how about I take a look tonight when I drive by there, and figure out one for Lizzie?”

“Okay,” Rindy agreed, nearly dragging her sleeves in her cereal as she reached for her juice cup. The truth was, she and Lizzie planned to take Uncle Steve’s shield and see how it worked as a sled. It was plenty big enough for both of them. But they couldn’t use that all the time because Uncle Steve needed it to pose with for pictures and to hit people. Plus he’d yelled at them last time, when they tried to ride it down the stairs and out the front door. Well, it was mostly Aunt Angie who yelled about that. But Lizzie would need a sled after Uncle Steve hid his shield again, until Lizzie found it again.

Maybe they could get Rindy’s Christmas puppy to pull it for them.

“And then I come home on Sunday?” she asked, thinking it best not to mention any of this to Daddy.

Lizzie didn't have to do this, she thought, remember all the time where she was going when, which people she'd get to see today. Lizzie had three parents all in one house, and she wasn't like Rindy, thinking of what to say in front of who so Mommy or Daddy or Grandma wouldn't get mad. Lizzie said whatever she wanted

“Monday night, sweetheart. Because this time you don't have school, so you can spend a whole third day with Mommy if you want.”

“But only if I want?” Rindy clarified as Daddy sorted through his papers again.

“Exactly, only if you want.”

“I think I want to,” Rindy decided after a moment. She liked spending time with her Mommy and Mama, and with her friend and aunts and uncle. “Is the paper good?” she asked after a minute, taking a bite of slightly soggy cereal.

“Some of it.”

“Aunt Therese works for the paper. Sometimes she even gets her name in for everyone to see! Isn’t that great?”

“Fantastic,” Daddy said, made a funny face as he sipped from his coffee.

* * *

 Daddy being home from work, and no school meant Rindy got to run around in her nightgown and watch cartoons and play, until near ten when Miss Ava finally chased her upstairs and made her put on some 'real clothes.’

Real clothes that involved warm tights and a new dress, but not a princessy dress, just a nice dress, Rindy thought.

Miss Ava was nice and always helped her with her clothes, but Rindy did the hair brushing on her own. A hundred brushes on each side, just like Mommy. Miss Ava was nice, but she always had more things to do and liked to cheat and skip numbers. Just to see if Rindy was paying attention, she said. But Rindy liked doing it herself, so she could tell Mommy she was a big girl without lying, and Miss Ava knew now to give her extra time for it.

She might not know how to brush hair right, but Miss Ava was good otherwise. She even let Rindy leave her shoes off “For now” when she returned to the living room with her Lincoln logs and train set. Daddy had taken a look at her toys, laughed, and excused himself to his office, leaving her to play.

Miss Ava's only warning was not to make 'too big' a mess, “Otherwise Santa might worry about bringing you more building toys!”

She'd made it through three containers of logs and had half the living room covered by the time Miss Lilah showed up.

“I didn't realize we had construction work ongoing!”

Miss Lilah wasn't as tall as Mommy, but she was nearly as blonde. With pale skin and bright blue eyes, Rindy felt she looked almost like a Christmas angel tree topper, but saying that might be mean, even though Mommy called Mama ‘Angel’ all the time and it wasn’t mean. Adults were funny about things sometimes, and Rindy liked Miss Lilah too much to risk it.

She crouched down next to Rindy, skirt smoothed carefully against her legs, blonde curls bouncing around her shoulders when she moved, “Are we building a whole city?”

“Yes. This is New York,” Rindy declared, amused by Lilah's confusion, and by her stocking clad feet. “See, that's the Empire State Building.”

“Of course, how could I miss that? It's beautiful, truly amazing, Miss Rindy.” She spoke pretty like Aunt Peggy did, but her words were more like hot chocolate than flowers, “You have a gift.”

“And you don't have shoes on,” Rindy observed with a giggle, “Me either.”

“Oh, well,” Lilah lowered her voice, “mine were lost in the snow. How about yours? Did the goat eat them?”

Rindy laughed again, nearly toppling over her shopping department when she did so, “No! He lives at our country home now because he ate the flowers and Miss Ava said he could live there, or she'd find recipes from the Jamaicans.”

She missed her goat. Daddy got it for her after he and Mommy said they were going to be a different kind of family now.

Lilah snorted, “I see. Well, I hope he's enjoying his new home.”

“He is. He misses me though.”

“Well of course. Who wouldn’t miss you?”

“I know. But he has more room to play and do goat stuff at the country house anyway. Do you want to build blocks with me?”

“Unfortunately I have some business with your father, but maybe we can play in just a bit, once we've gone over our papers together. How does that sound?”

Rindy nodded, “Okay. But I'm leaving tonight so it can't be too late.”

“No fear, I'm sure we can manage playtime before dinner.”

Maybe she should buy her mom a new coat for Christmas, Rindy thought as she worked on her crayon artwork, her lunch laying on its plate next to her papers. It was snowing still, it had been all morning, so a coat would be good. But she already had quite a few coats.

Maybe mittens. Mama said her mom was always losing her mittens.

Like those three little kittens, Rindy thought with a giggle, adding a bow to her drawing of a Christmas tree.

Or she could do pretty perfume, but then she'd have to go into the smelly section of the store where old women always got too close and tried to touch her and all smelled like Grandma's vanity bottles.

Mama… maybe something for her camera. Or matching mittens.

“Eat your lunch, Miss Rindy.”

At Miss Ava's reminder, Rindy sighed and took a bite of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

It didn't taste as good as Mama’s, but she chewed it anyway, the peanut butter sticking to her mouth. She could get Mama a photobook, for all her new photos. Maybe.

And Daddy… “What do you buy daddies for Christmas?” Rindy asked around the peanut butter.

“How about a tie?”

Rindy wrinkled her nose, “Daddy has too many ties. And robes.”

“Then how about new house shoes? Or a smoking jacket?”

“Those aren't fun though,” Rindy sighed, tapping her fingers on the plate as she took another bite. “Books?”

“He loves books. You could get some new ones for you to read together

 “I could! We could get animal books!”

She was almost done with her lunch when Miss Lilah peeked into the kitchen, “Hello, Miss Rindy. I'm available for building lessons whenever you're ready.”

“Have you ever built houses before?” Rindy asked curiously, trying to take big bites of her sandwich to finish it quicker. Miss Ava wouldn't let her down to play if it wasn't eaten.

“Not toy ones, no. I have been around a home or two being built though, it's rather interesting but loud.” Lilah sat down on the chair across from her, “Too many tools and smelly men.”

Rindy wrinkled her nose, “Ew. No, we build nicer things. You can help me with Daddy's office building. You know it better.”

“I might, yes. I'll be sure to follow your directions though, since you know the blocks so much more than me.”

Miss Lilah was a better builder than she thought she was, and Rindy barely had to show her how to build to make the tall big buildings. They weren't exact to the real buildings, Rindy knew, but they were close enough.

Halfway through their first attempt Miss Ava brought them hot chocolate and flipped the radio on, so it played Christmas music on repeat along with people talking about stuff that held no interest to her at all.

“Do you like Christmas?” Rindy asked curiously as Lilah sang along to the radio, something about Santa and babies.

“I love it. Do you?”

“Yeah. And Mommy does too, it’s her favorite. Daddy says my Aunt Abby is a real Scrooge though. Do you know what that is?”

“I believe that's a character from _A Christmas Carol_ ,” Lilah said, “I managed to catch it last year on a friend’s television.”

“Oh. Is that a bad thing?” Rindy asked, giggling at the title with Mommy’s name in it.

“Perhaps, yes, but Scrooge is a good person in the end.”

“Oh. Aunt Abby's taking me shopping.”

She’d told Daddy over and over that she wanted to do her own shopping this year, told Mommy too. Then they’d talked on the phone and sometimes Daddy talked too loud, and it seemed like it took forever. But then he’d handed her the phone so she could have her goodnight call with Mommy and Mommy said Aunt Abby was going to come visit her at Daddy’s and be her Christmas elf.

“I know. How exciting, going shopping without your parents! Do you know what you want to get them?”

Rindy looked around to make sure no one heard, “Some books for Daddy, that we can read together. I don't know about Mommy though, or Ma-Aunt Therese.”

“Hmm,” Lilah tapped her lower lip with her finger, “Well, how about…a new hair kit for your mommy? A brand new brush, comb, and mirror? Does she like those sorts of things?”

“She does! Oh, I could get her a prettier set than she has!”

“I bet she'd adore any present you gave her.”

“What about Aunt Therese?”

“I can't say I know much about your aunt Therese,” Lilah admitted, “but you could always go back to the old standby.”

“What's that?”

“Socks and candy.” Lilah said with such seriousness Rindy couldn't help but laugh.

By the time they'd run out of Lincoln logs to build with, Miss Lilah had the radio turned up a little more, and had pulled Rindy to her feet with her, showing her how to dance to the different music it was playing, to 'kickstart the Christmas spirit'.

Miss Lilah didn't dance like her Mommy and Daddy, just swaying in little circles. She spun and swayed and moved her feet, holding Rindy's hand in hers to help her spin, easily picking her up in her arms to dance around when Rindy asked, giggling and a bit breathless after a few fast songs.

“What's a winter wonderland?”

“It's where everything is bright and white and covered in snow,” Lilah answered when the song ended, a wide, pretty smile on her face. Rindy found herself wondering if Mama could lift her like this.

“Oh. I like the snow.”

“Me too.”

Rindy noticed her Daddy in the doorway as Miss Lilah started singing along to the next one, swaying with, her hand in Rindy's in an exaggerated dance. Her Daddy tapped his finger to his lips in a 'hush' gesture that had Rindy giggling.

“My mother will start to worry,” Lilah sang along, words rich and warm.

“Beautiful what's your hurry?” her Daddy picked up when the other voice went to sing and Lilah whirled in place, making Rindy laugh as Lilah actually gasped in surprise, how silly.

“Oh, sorry, I didn't realize-- I'm sure we look a sight.”

“Indeed, you do.” Daddy smiled at them and Rindy couldn't help giggling again, running to him to be picked up once Lilah sat her down. “But that's not always a bad thing,” he added, picking up the words again and twirling Rindy like Lilah had, dancing with her a little in place for a moment.

“I didn't know you could sing,” Rindy told him.

“I am a man of mystery.” he answered seriously. “And you miss, are a gal with plans. Your Aunt is at the door. Best go get your shoes on.”

“Is she really? Why didn't she come inside?” Rindy asked, squirming to get down and find her shoes.

“I didn't answer the door,” he replied, and she heard Lilah cough over a laugh.

“Ha—Mr. Aird!”

“What?” Rindy heard his voice echo after her as she ran off to locate her boots, “At least I made sure to notice she'd shown up.”

Rindy grabbed her snow boots as fast as she could, trying to slide them on without messing about with the laces, and nearly tumbled herself over.

“Careful, sweetheart,” Lilah caught her, kneeling down on the cool tile to help her slip her feet into the boots, gently tugging them into place before lacing them up. “Don't crack your head. A trip to the shops becoming a trip to hospital is a bad change of plans.”

“Snow boots are annoying,” Rindy said. They were so much harder to put on than regular shoes. “Ice skates too.”

“Are you planning to skate, Miss Rindy?”

“Mommy’s taking me. Mommy’s a good skater. Aunt Therese isn’t, but she goes ‘cause I ask.”

“Someone else wrapped around your finger, hmm?”

Rindy didn’t know what that meant, but Miss Lilah was smiling, so Rindy smiled back. She almost told how she didn’t think Mama was that bad a skater, how she sometimes wondered if Mama was pretending just so Mommy would hold onto her more. Nobody could be that bad at skating if they weren’t pretending. Then Rindy heard movement and remembered Aunt Abby and forgot about the skating.

“Daddy, don't let Aunt Abby leave without me!” Rindy called out over Lilah's shoulders when the woman had to pause to undo a knot in the laces.

“I won't, Princess,” Daddy called back as he moved to open the door just out of their sight.  “Afternoon.”

She heard Aunt Abby's voice flit through the hallway. "You could have invited me in, instead of leaving me to freeze."

"I thought your heart would match the weather. Besides, I like my housekeeper. My gardener not as much, and you tend to poach."

“What’s poaching?” Rindy asked, though she could see Lilah was trying not to laugh.

“It's a way to cook eggs and pears. Are you wearing your navy coat or your red coat tonight?”

“The navy one, it matches my boots.”

She managed to get her coat on and buttoned up with minimal help, and even got her hat on without fuss before heading for the door.  "If your heart's really cold, Aunt Abby, I can get you a sweater." Rindy offered the moment her Aunt Abby was in sight.

"No, darling, that's quite alright. The gardener's sure to help enough."

"I like him," Rindy said like it was a secret the other adults couldn't hear, "He's really nice and made us a garden for vegetables too and he's really pretty like flowers."

“I'm sure he is,” Abby smiled. “I don’t need a sweater, but you know what I do need?”

“What?”

“A proper hello from you, missy.”

Ignoring the grumpy tone (Aunt Abby almost never meant it), Rindy threw herself forward. Aunt Abby picked her up and spun her around over and over and Rindy loved it even if it made her a little dizzy, with all the spinning she’d already done. Aunt Abby’s coat smelled like the stuff they used at the shop to make the furniture shiny.

“You came!” Rindy said once Aunt Abby set her down.

“Well of course I did.”

“You came to be my Christmas elf!”

Aunt Abby made a funny face at that. Rindy heard Daddy cough, but it also sounded like laughing.

“Is that what I’m here for?”

Rindy nodded. “That’s what Mommy called you when she said you were coming to get me.”

“Of course she did. And what have we here, a fellow elf?”

Rindy turned to see what Aunt Abby was talking about. “No! That’s Miss Lilah. She helps Daddy with things.”

“I’m sure she does. Maybe someone should help her find her shoes.”

“She lost them in the snow.”

“It’s getting late,” Daddy said. “And you and your elf have plans, don’t you, sunshine?”

“But I wanted to show Aunt Abby my room!” Aunt Abby never visited here, and there were so many toys and drawings Rindy never got to show her.

“Maybe next time, sweetheart.” Aunt Abby smoothed a hand through Rindy’s hair. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Lilah. You work for Harge?”

“For Mr. Aird, yes ma’am.”

“My condolences then.”

“What’s condolaces?” Rindy asked

 “Leave the top up, Abigail.” Daddy said. Rindy hated when he ignored her. “And for God's sake do the speed limit.”

“Picky, picky, for someone who hasn’t gone anywhere without a driver since 1945.”

Daddy knelt down next to Rindy, “Okay, sunshine. When are you going to see me again?”

“Monday,” Rindy answered. “Or whenever I want to.”

“That's right.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and handed her a folded slip of paper. “All my numbers where I'll be are written down right there. I stopped in at Macy's and at Frankenberg's, and let them know that my little girl was going to come down and go Christmas shopping, so just ask for the manager, tell them who you are, and they'll make sure to bill it later, okay?”

‘You could just give me the money,” said Aunt Abby.

“Yes. That worked out so well for Lindberg, didn’t it?”

“Who’s that?” Rindy asked.

“Never you mind,” said Daddy. “Just have your elf ask for the manager, okay?”

“Okay.” Rindy nodded and hugged him tightly. Her stomach always felt weird before leaving, here or at Mommy’s, all twisty and like she'd swallowed a windup toy. “Promise I'll see you Monday?”

“Of course! Santa will have come, we'll have to hurry home and see what he's brought you, won't we?”

“Yeah.” Rindy thought of something suddenly. “Who’s going to help me hide Mommy’s present?”

“I’m sure your little elf will help with that. Aunt Abby’s very good at hiding things.”

“C'mon, sweetheart,” Aunt Abby said, “We have things to do before we meet your mom tonight!”

“Okay…bye Daddy,” Rindy repeated, hugging him again before turning and hugging Lilah impulsively, “Bye, Miss Lilah.”

“Goodbye, Miss Rindy.”

“It was lovely meeting you,” Aunt Abby said. “We’ll keep a lookout for your shoes.”

Rindy took Abby's hand, took a breath, and set off through the snow to her aunt's car.

* * *

 “Nerinda Abigail Aird. If your behind isn’t on that seat in the next three seconds, the Elf Express is turning around and you’re going home.”

“No it won’t,” Rindy said with a laugh. Daddy never used her middle name, even when she was in trouble.

“You want to bet on it? Butt. Seat. Now.”

Rindy laughed again at the word Aunt Abby used, but she listened.

“That’s better. Now sit still, unless you want the back, and the car seat.”

“No car seat!”

“Then behave yourself.”

Aunt Abby was watching the road and not smiling, but Rindy could hear the smile in her voice. Aunt Abby wasn’t as grumpy as she wanted Rindy to think. “Can we make the top go away?”

“Your dad said no.”

“So?” Rindy asked. Aunt Abby did the opposite of what Mommy and Daddy said all the time. Especially Daddy.

“So, you’ll get sick.”

Rindy slumped in her seat. She wouldn’t get sick, and it was more fun with the top open, and they’d be the only ones doing it, because no one else was like Aunt Abby. Mama said she was the only one crazy enough to drive an open-topped car in December. “Please?”

“The wind would blow you away like a balloon, and then I’d have to chase you all over the city.”

Rindy loved that idea and told Aunt Abby.

Aunt Abby called her silly, then asked about Miss Lilah. How long she’d worked for Daddy, which Rindy didn’t know, and lots of other questions she didn’t know either. She was glad Aunt Abby liked talking about Muss Lilah so much. Rindy liked it too.

“Miss Lilah taught me how to dance.”

“She did?”

“Yup. Not boring like Mommy and Daddy dance either. And Daddy sang.”

“Really?”

“Yup. Before you came. He made his voice go all rumbly and funny.”

“You heard your daddy sing? Oh you poor darling, your ears must hurt!”

Aunt Abby took a hand off the wheel to tug gently at her ear and Rindy laughed and swatted her away.

When they got out of the car in front of Frankenberg’s, Aunt Abby said they had to hold hands, just like Mommy and Mama and Daddy always said. Even though Rindy was a big girl and Aunt Abby was a slowpoke. Rindy bounced impatiently while Aunt Abby grumbled about sludge and puddles.

“Come on, Auntie!” She tugged on Abby’s arm, but it didn’t help.

“Take it easy, missy. You want me to tie a leash on you?”

Rindy laughed, swinging her arm back and forth in Abby’s. “No!”

“I didn’t think so.”

“Mommy loves the snow.”

“Yes well. Your mother always did have questionable taste in some things.”

“Like what?” Rindy asked, though she wasn’t entirely sure what Aunt Abby was saying.

“Men. Everything except women, really.”

It was warmer inside the store, but crowded, and Aunt Abby held her hand tighter. Aunt Abby reminded her what Mama’s favorite color was, and helped Rindy find a photobook in red. It reminded her of the colors Mommy liked to wear. Then Aunt Abby and a lady in a Santa hat helped her pick a new hair kit for Mommy. 

Daddy was harder to pick for. She’d get the books, like Miss Ava said, but Daddy was a very good daddy and she figured he deserved something grownup too, something just for him. She still didn’t want to get him more ties, or a robe, or slippers. That’s what Mommy always used to get him, and he always got her the same flowers or perfume every year. That was boring and Rindy didn’t want to be boring. Aunt Abby wasn’t helping much either.

“You could get him some socks.”

Rindy shook her head. “I already told Miss Ava no socks, they’re boring.”

“These would be special socks though.”

Rindy looked up at her as they wandered the store with all it’s pretty decorations. “Special?”

“You could poke some holes in them, make them special.”

Rindy shook her head. Aunt Abby was always funny. “Maybe a fishing pole?” she asked, thinking of the trips to the lake Daddy took her on.

Aunt Abby made a joke about Daddy slipping and drowning in the lake

Aunt Abby said maybe they should get the books first, they could find something else for Daddy after. Rindy agreed and they made their way over to the book section. There were too many people in the aisles, kids and grownups, and Rindy wished Daddy was here. He could lift her on his shoulders so she’d be able to see everything. Or Uncle Steve. Uncle Steve was stronger than Daddy, but whenever Rindy said that, Daddy grumbled about drugs and Frankenstein. Whatever that meant.

Which reminded her. What would she get Uncle Steve? Uncle Steve was always nice to her, and he drew and colored better than anyone she knew, and he’d taught her some new tricks no one else in her class knew. What would Uncle Steve want?

“This is stupid!” a voice said somewhere nearby. Rindy stopped and listened. She knew that voice! Didn’t she? It was hard to hear over all the other noise.

“I’m sorry? Um, we have lots of other books if…”

That was a grownup voice that Rindy definitely didn’t know.

“Elizabeth.” Another grownup, a lady. “Be nice. Would you like me to give your mother a bad report this close to Christmas?

“But look, Auntie Rose! That’s not how the story went and you know it! And they made Daddy ugly.”

“Elizabeth.”

“Well they did. The lines are all weird and crooked. They can’t have a book with my Mommy and Daddy here where everything’s wrong, it’s not fair.”

“It’s a story, Lizzie. Stories are supposed to be made up, remember?”

“It’s not a story if it’s made up about a real person, then it’s just lies.”

“Sweetheart.” That voice Rindy didn’t know again. “We really do have plenty of other books.”

“I’m having Auntie Rose call Uncle Howard and he’s going to buy this store and you’ll only be able to sell good books.”

Someone said something about censorship, and Rindy didn’t know what that was, but she squirmed her hand out of Aunt Abby’s and ran to the end of the aisle. She looked left, then right, and then saw Lizzie and someone else Rindy kind of remembered, a lady, and a man in a Santa hat.  He had a book in his hand and Rindy saw from the bright red and blue that Captain America was drawn on the cover.

“Lizzie!”

Rindy went toward her and Lizzie ducked under the man with the hat and almost knocked Rindy over, even though Lizzie was smaller. “What are you doing here?” Lizzie asked.

“Shopping with Aunt Abby. What are you doing here?”

“Shopping with Aunt Rose!”

Lizzie gestured to the redhead with curls and glasses, who smiled and waved at Rindy. Rindy remembered her better now, she thought. She’d been at Lizzie’s house before, at Aunt Peggy’s parties.

“Aunt Rose is the best,” Lizzie continued. “She’s a spy!”

Rose laughed and said something about kids and their imaginations. “Well, I guess I do spy on people’s conversations a little. I work for the phone company.”

“She does not,” Lizzie said. “She pretends about that, even though she’s a grownup and too big for pretend.”

Rose said she resented that, whatever that meant, and said something to the salesperson and he went away.

“When did you get here?” Rindy asked, excited. She’d thought it would be days before she saw Lizzie.

Lizzie put a hand to her face and breathed very loudly. “You would not believe the day I’ve had!"

Rindy giggled. Lizzie sounded like Aunt Angie when she said that. Both of them were good at telling stories. Rindy stepped forward a bit to listen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While things in this series are planned out to a certain extent, I'm always anxious to check out prompts, or just to hear from you guys. Hit me up on Tumblr if you're so inclined.
> 
> http://cblgblog.tumblr.com/


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, it's been forever and we're way past Christmas and I suck. If you guys only knew how many late holiday fics I've posted... Anyway. This time it was at least somewhat out of my control, stomach flu got me for about two weeks. Good news is that much of the next chapter is already done.

"Left or right?"

Lizzie peered over Daddy's shoulder, "Hmm, left!" she declared regally, pointing to the left, towards where the shops were. She pulled her arm back then, back inside the light jacket her dad wore to keep her warm. With the wrap keeping her in place, and the jacket, she was warm enough. Her face got cold from the breeze sometimes, but she could just hide it against his back when it did. The snow on the ground didn't hamper Steve's running, and didn't bother Lizzie in the least.

Lizzie loved mornings. Mornings meant no more sleeping – why did people like sleeping? It was just time laying quiet that you could do anything else! -, and a morning run with Daddy, with her tucked inside the wrap that held her like when she was a little baby, the only baby.

"You angling for a treat?" Steve asked over his shoulder, never pausing, never hesitating in his run, merely ducking or moving around obstacles as needed, sometimes to the laughter of adults or children nearby.

"No." Lizzie drew the word out with a giggle.

"Maybe?"

"Maybe. Li'l bit." Lizzie nodded. Sometimes if their run was just right they'd run into her Nonno at his job. He always had something for her!

"Should we get something for Mommy and Mama?"

"Mmm, yes," Lizzie decided, "But not Jacob."

She felt him laugh. "He's too little anyway."

"Still doesn't get one." Lizzie grumbled a bit, settling back down again, reverting to giving directions when asked, watching the early morning people out and about.

Mama said they ran more than the trains, and Uncle Howard said her daddy could outrun any train, which was silly. Why would they race a train? Mommy told her she could run fast-fast too.

They were almost done with their run when it started snowing, little flakes falling on Lizzie's face, making her giggle. "Daddy, sta nevicando! Look!"

"It is snowing, you're right. You know what that means? That means..."

"Hot chocolate and jammies!" Lizzie cheered, kicking her feet a little in excitement, wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug as he had to jump to avoid sliding on an icy spot, making the man they bought bread from laugh and call after them.

* * *

 Once they were home, Steve let Lizzie hop down from her sling, tumbling lightly into the snow on the ground, making her giggle.

“I'm going to beat you to the house,” he threatened, tossing his jacket to the side so he stood there in his workout pants and a t-shirt, matching Lizzie's flannel pants and button up shirt.

“Nuh uh!” Lizzie darted for the house, only to be sideswiped halfway there and spun around. “Daddy!”

“Gotcha.” Steve proclaimed, moving and throwing them back several feet from the door to make her roll in the snow, setting her off into pearls of laughter. The moment she got free, she took off for the house again, this time getting almost to the steps before being hauled backwards. Like Aunt Ana's kitten playing with one of his bell toys, Lizzie thought gleefully as her daddy tumbled them through the air, making her breathless and dizzy in the best of ways.

The game kept up for what felt like forever, until Lizzie's stomach was jittering with butterflies, her face and hands flushed pink from exertion, and she'd left foot prints clear up to the doorway.

Until her mama poked her head out of the house and yelled at the two of them to stop playing and come eat.

Something Lizzie was very happy to do. Running and playing always made her feel really, really hungry. Like she'd fade away if she didn't eat soon. This time when she ran, her dad let her get inside. He didn't catch her until she slipped on the floor on her wet shoes, his arms scooping her up before she hit the ground.

“Gotcha.”

“I got inside first,” Lizzie pointed out, trying to kick her shoes off without using her hands.

“Yes, this time you did. Great job, sunshine.” Steve grinned, holding her up on his shoulder with one arm, so he could undo the other with his spare hand.

“Eat, food, breakfast,” Angie yelled at them again, gesturing towards the small table in the kitchen where they tended to eat only when it wasn't everyone eating, or they were being quick.

Lizzie frowned but let her dad help her into the tiny seat that sat on top of the normal chair. There was already a big bowl of oatmeal sitting in front of her spot at the table, matching her daddy's much bigger bowl next to her. Well, Mama called it oatmeal, Mommy called it porridge, Daddy called it 'gruel' with a wink. Speaking of... “Where's mommy?” Lizzie asked, taking a big bite of her oatmeal. This time Mama had put blueberries in it. At her look though, Steve leaned over and poured some cream in, giving a wink while Angie’s back was turned.

“Mommy’s laying down with Jacob while he eats,” Angie answered, fiddling around at the stove.

Lizzie let her spoon drop back to the table without meaning to. “That's not fair!” she protested loudly, the happy jittering in her belly becoming more angry than happy. “I don't get to eat in bed.”

“You're a big girl, Jacob's a baby.”

“Tuo bambina!” It wasn't fair, he got all the attention! Always, he got cuddles and food whenever he wanted, and parents who sang him to sleep no matter what time of day and always carried him.

“Yes, you are my baby, but you're still a big girl who can eat big girl food. You don't have to live on milk.”

“I like milk!” Lizzie protested, lip quivering.

“And thank god you drink it from a cup now. Mia bella, you're a big girl. Jacob's a tiny baby.”

“I wanna be a tiny baby.”

“But you're not. So sit up and eat your oatmeal like the big girl you are. If you finish it all up, we'll see about getting you something else.”

“But I'm the baby.” Lizzie had fought this argument several times, and had yet to win it. But it was a slight win in her book when Daddy lifted her from her seat, settling her on his lap instead.

He didn't say a word about her being a baby, or a big girl. He didn't say anything at all to her, but he did feed her her oatmeal from her bowl between bites of his own, til both bowls were completely clear. Mama and Daddy chatted above her head, but they did it too quickly and switched languages which wasn't fair, because she couldn't think fast enough to keep up, especially when they tried to spell things out like the cartoons did.

“I'm still hungry,” Lizzie said, thumb in her mouth.

“Me too,” now her daddy did address her, “starving. It's all that running. We have to gear up for the day.”

“How about eggs?” Angie offered with a smile.

“Will you eat with me? Per favore?”

Angie finished off her coffee and nodded, setting it aside, “I suppose,” she drew the word out, “If eggs are on the line.”

* * *

 “You 'wake, Mommy?” Lizzie 'whispered, leaning against the side of her parents bed, careful not to disturb the cradle behind her, or the stupid bundle of shrieks and smells that slept inside it. “Mommy.” She drew the word out.

Peggy opened one eye. “Yes, darling?”

“You're meant to be 'wake. You're always 'wake early.”

“I was up late with your brother,” Peggy replied, helping Lizzie into the bed next to her and bundling covers over the both of them, “So your mama's up.”

Lizzie happily clung to her mommy, “You're supposed to do breakfast and Mama gets to be lazy in bed so I get cuddles.”

“I know. We'll sort our schedules out again soon, I promise. Did you have a nice run?”

“Uh-huh. It snowed. We played mons'er in the snow, and ate lots of oatmeal and eggs.”

“What a… pleasant combination.”

“Uh huh, and blueberries. Are you going to play with me?”

“Right now I'm going to sleep.”

“But you played with that baby!” Lizzie whined louder than she meant to and shot a look back to the cradle to make sure the baby hadn't woken up. “He got lots of your attention.”

“You have my attention right now,” Peggy said, cuddling her close and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“It's not the same.”

“You're getting just as much love and attention, I promise lovely.”

“I'm not!” Lizzie felt her lip quivering. “That baby gets hugs and love and cuddles and kisses and milk and he doesn't do nothin' but cry and stink! It's not fair!”

“Life isn't always fair, but in this case you get the same he does. He just needs a little more attention at times because he's so helpless. That's why he needs a big girl to show him how to behave.”

“I don't want to be a big girl!” Lizzie protested loudly, “I'm the baby.”

“You're too big to be the baby. You can be our little one, but Jacob's an actual baby. It's more fun to be a big girl anyway.”

“I don't get cuddles or love or milk in bed! I don't get to eat anywhere else but the tables.”

“You get oatmeal and eggs and pizza, and cannolis. Jacob can't have anything else but milk. You get to play Lego, and out in the snow, but he's so little he can't even be without a blanket.”

“It's not fair!” Lizzie protested again. He always won. He got everyone's attention always.

“If you're going to be loud you need to go play somewhere else. Your brother needs sleep. If you want to be quiet you can stay and cuddle with me, however.”

Did… did her mommy just tell her to go away? She had, she'd banished her! Like the wicked stepmother from the Cinderella movie Uncle Howard had for his projector room. Sent away all on her own because the baby got more love always.

Like… like that cat that her Nonno wouldn't let stay in the house but only in the garage! Banished away.

Lizzie wriggled out of her mommy’s arms, dropping off the side of the bed and hurrying out of the room, crying, even as her mommy called after her. She hit the door to shut it on the way out, and it shut loud enough it hurt her ears, and made that baby start crying.

Good, he could be unhappy too.

No, not good, because he'd probably get cuddles now!

She debated running back into the room for a moment but hearing her daddy calling her name in his 'you're in trouble' singy voice had her darting for the playroom instead.

* * *

 She tumbled and danced, twirled and flipped with the greatest of ease, all in performance for an adoring audience. She tumbled head over heels and twisted, leaping to her feet like her daddy, a performer for the ages. Maybe she'd be a circus person, Lizzie thought as she hurried to her feet again, brushing her hair from her face and giving a bow to the very dutiful audience that included two Captain America bears, a dozen tin soldiers, and her favorite dolly. Rindy said her grandparents would probably get her a doggie this Christmas. The doggie could be their lion and Rindy could be the lion tamer.

Rindy didn’t have to share with a loud, smelly baby. Lizzie didn’t know Rindy’s daddy and decided she didn’t like him all that much because he always had to come and get Rindy, their games and sleepovers always had to stop because she had to go home and wait for her daddy. But Lizzie never told Rindy this because Rindy seemed to like him. Anyway, even if he did annoy Lizzie, Rindy said he’d play with her almost whenever she asked, and Lizzie knew Aunt Carol and Aunt Therese did. Aunt Carol never yelled at Rindy because of what some dumb baby did. Rindy's daddy and Aunt Carol and Aunt Therese all missed her when she was staying at the other person's house, so they played with her and cuddled her whenever they saw her. Not like Lizzie's parents. They only cared about that baby and probably wouldn't even notice if Lizzie wasn't at the house anymore. She was practically an orphan, Lizzie realized, like Aunt Therese.

Maybe Lizzie would go live with Aunt Carol. She and Aunt Therese could be orphans together, and Lizzie could keep Aunt Carol company when Rindy wasn't there. And it would be much quieter there, and less smelly.

Lizzie bent double carefully, pressing her head into the ground, and pushed up on her very tiptoes to push herself over, tumbling in the most graceful flip that had ever been done. She could flip and jump and be amazing, like Daddy, and all Jacob could do was lay and poop. And they’d probably start giving him hugs and cuddles for that too, soon.

 Quiet applause came from the doorway and Lizzie looked up from the floor to see her daddy standing there.

“Non ho fatto niente,” she said quickly, climbing to her feet.

“Non? Did a ghost slam the door then?” he asked, crouching down next to her.

“Uh huh.” Lizzie nodded.

“Did they make your brother cry too?”

“No, that was the creature.” Lizzie twirled like a ballerina, heading back to her audience.

“The creature? What's that?” Steve moved after her.

“He's very tall, and very scary,” Lizzie told him seriously, picking up her dolly. “And gooey.”

“Gooey Really? What kind of goo?”

“Big and blue goo. He smells really icky too, like the baby.”

He snorted, “Oh how frightening!”

“Sì! I had to shut a door quick!”

“Did you now? Just like that?” He picked up the older Captain America bear that no longer had pants, moving it to a fighting stance, arm braced with the shield out, “I'll help you fight him off!”

“Oh no!” Lizzie set her doll down like he had, raising her voice slightly like they did for radios, “We gotta fight him, Cap!”

“What shall we do, Private Rogers?”

Their game lasted forever, running and jumping around the room, dictating a fantastic adventure that only stopped when they were hiding in a foxhole, defending some of her civilian toys from the goo spraying everywhere. Daddy’s bear bounced some of the icky stuff off his shield so it couldn’t hit them, then he used his normal voice, not the play one. “I know it’s hard, but you need to try harder with your brother.”

Lizzie sighed, put her toy down. Of course Jacob would ruin their game without even being there. “He’s loud and annoying.”

“Yup. Uncle Pietro said the same thing about you.”

Lizzie huffed. Mama’s youngest brother was only a few years older than her. He liked to say he was her uncle and she had to listen to him because of it. “What’s he know? He can’t even tie his shoes.” Neither could Lizzie, but she wasn’t the one being bossy.

Daddy laughed. “No, you’re right. But you still have fun with him now, don’t you?”

Lizzie grumbled. “Mommy banished me!”

“She did not.”

“She did! She banished me and said I can’t play or cuddle or anything with her.”

“Lizzie Girl, I promise she didn’t. I actually have been banished and told I couldn’t play or cuddle with her. She didn’t do that to you.”

Lizzie sighed. “I _am_ trying with stupid Jacob.”

“I know. I know he annoys you, but he needs you too.”

“Does not. He has you and mommy and mama.”

“Still needs you. He’s like one of these guys.” Daddy gestured at the bear with one ear and the dolly, cowering away from the goo monster. “He needs his big sister to protect him too.”

Lizzie sighed again. “Okay. Can we fight the monsters now, Daddy?’

‘Always.”

They kept going and daddy didn’t talk about Jacob again. They played and played until her Mommy came to see them, bringing the baby and what daddy called 'commando fuel.’

It was just lots of dry sticky fruits all mixed up with nuts and something greasy, with oats like for breakfast, but cut up into bars like chocolate. That and a glass of milk that Daddy said was much better than canned.

“Anything is better than canned milk,” Peggy replied, sitting down on the floor next to Lizzie, Jacob done to her chest with a wrap like Steve carried Lizzie in.

Lizzie eyed him while she took a bite of the bar, leaning into Peggy's side. “He's not crying.”

“No, he's not. He's happy right now.”

Lizzie made a noise of agreement, watching him closely, chewing thoughtfully. He was stinky, and loud, but she'd protect him from a goo monster, she decided. “Hi, Jakey,” Lizzie reached out, touching one of his hands where it rested against Peggy's shirt, “You're being quiet.”

Jacob made a noise in his sleep, his hand opening then closing again. Lizzie moved her hand so his hand could close around her finger, and went back to eating her snack, this time one handed.

* * *

 

Afternoons were for snuggles and reading books and quiet times, and lunch. Normally.

With mommy home instead of mama, and mama away 'practicing' all the time, and the baby being noisy lots, afternoons were now for quiet time, playing with mommy in quiet games, and well, okay, lunch was still the same.

Normally.

But today she got to be an extra special good girl.

Today Lizzie got to be an elf!

“Not Jakey,” Lizzie informed her Aunt Ana seriously as Ana helped her into her jacket, zipping it up all the way.

“No, not Jakey,” Ana agreed with a loving smile, “He's too small for this cold, isn't he?”

“Yes. So are daddy's tights,” Lizzie stated, even as her daddy protested. He hadn't pulled his hood up yet, so she could still see his face, watch him pull a silly one at her.

“See if I send you flying across the snow on my shield anytime soon,” he grumbled but it just made Lizzie laugh.

Daddy and Uncle Howard and Uncle Jarvis were being Santa helpers, her mama had explained, and that meant if she wanted she could go and be an elf with Aunt Ana while they did toy collections. She got to sort toys into bins so they could be wrapped up for Santa to come get and deliver to lots of little kids who didn't get to have any toys any other times. Cause all kids got one toy from Santa, but daddy and his friends wanted to be helpers and make sure all those kids got extra special toys from other people too, so they'd know people cared.

That's what Mommy said. Daddy hadn't had any toys when he was little bitty, mommy told her. Mommy hadn't had many new ones either cause wars were meanies. Her nonna made dolls though for mama, and costumes so she could play dress up with Uncle Angel.

She wasn't sure if her aunties had had toys from anyone, but they whisper-talked that aunt Therese had been in a church to live so probably not.

That's why Lizzie had been elected not just to be an elf, but to pick some of her toys to give away too!

It wasn't hard, lots of people sent her things and lots of those things weren't things she liked. So if she didn't like them, and had her own stuff already, maybe another child would like them.

She'd have given Therese extra shoes, Lizzie told her mommy when sorting through things and putting them neatly into boxes like a good girl, and a coat. And some stuffy toys.

Maybe not her tin soldiers, but the stuffed toys for sure.

 “Go say goodbye so we can get going,” Ana told her, turning to speak with Lizzie's daddy again.

Lizzie shuffled a little in the boots she was made to wear, but hurried to where her mommy and Jacob sat on the couch. “I'm gonna go be an elf now,” Lizzie proclaimed, climbing up onto the couch on her knees, leaning up to kiss Peggy on the cheek, jostling her and the baby in the process. “Love you.”

“I love you too, silly girl.” Peggy laughed and kissed her cheek in return. “Be a good elf, and listen to your aunty, okay?”

Lizzie rolled her eyes, “I'm always a good girl.” Obviously she'd be a good elf too. “Bye, Jakey.” She leaned over a bit more, kissing the quiet baby on the cheek as well, jostling him again and getting a squeaked protest.  “Be good,” she warned him like her parents warned her. “No yelling.”

* * *

 

The place Lizzie got to play elf at was a large indoor room like a theater, only with less real seats, and more metal chairs moved back and to the sides. She barely caught a glimpse as her daddy carried her through the side, gestured back by a man with a clipboard, and a woman prancing about in heels with green leaves in her hair.

 There were other people dressed up backstage, some like elves, some with bows on. There was a silly looking couple dressed like Santa and Mrs. Claus, which was really silly but sometimes elfs got to dress up and play pretend too.

 She rested her head on the top of her dad's, tall and content on his shoulders. She liked being tall, one day she'd be big and tall as him and then no cupboard would be out of reach.

 “Stevie-love!”

Lizzie nearly pulled Steve's hair as he turned towards a name that was like his, “Darla?” he asked before laughing, “What are you doing here?”

Lizzie grumbled as he hugged the woman – yet another tall blonde lady in heels with a silly green hat on, did they make them like baby dolls? - and her feet nearly got crushed for a moment before the woman bounced backwards. Either she had a little baby at home like Jacob, Lizzie decided after watching her for a moment, or she needed to buy a new shirt.

 “So USO girl to elf?”

“Well, USO girl to chorus girl, to backup in a few commercials, dancer number four in a few movies to elf. So, pretty much typical.”

“Movies to elf?” Steve laughed, “You came to New York to be an elf for me?”

“Oh, don't flatter yourself, sweetheart, plenty here who’ll do that for you. It's only partially to see you. Mostly it's ‘cause I heard about a new Stark production that's gonna happen. Heard he's setting up for a movie or two of his own.”

“I heard about the same,” he hooked his hand around Lizzie's ankle when she shifted, keeping her from falling, “You gonna try?”

“Oh, sweetie, I'm gonna win. Think Stark could say no to me?” The lady twirled with a silly smile on her face. She needed a new skirt too, Lizzie decided, resting her chin against her daddy's head. Obviously she'd had a growing month and hadn't got new things yet. Maybe if she couldn't buy them herself she could have daddy ask the other elfs to get her presents too.

“Darla, no one could ever say no to you.”

"Hmm, you did. Could have been fun."

"Why did you have to say 'no', Daddy?" Lizzie finally spoke up, tired of not being part of the conversation.

Steve reached up, hands under her armpits to lift her over his head and into his arms so she was sat on his forearm against his chest, “Because she was being very bad, which meant she didn't get fun things. Why don't you go with Aunty Ana and watch the show okay? That way you can tell mama and mommy about it later, huh?”

He handed her off with a kiss to her cheek, and a few funny words from Ana that had him laughing and replying in just as funny of words.

“Aww, lookit you 'daddy',” She heard the woman laugh as Aunt Ana carried her away, Uncle Jarvis at their side.

“Don't make me turn you over my knee,” her daddy responded as someone yelled for people to take their places.

* * *

 

Maybe that Darla lady hadn't had a growing month, Lizzie decided halfway through the show – which mostly seemed to be her daddy talking and showing off while ladies danced and sang around him all in silly green hats – maybe instead the laundry lady had shrunk the costumes, because almost all the poor ladies had skirts that were too short, and tops that were too tight.

She remarked as much to Aunt Ana who had laughed quietly and told her it would be mean to point out the laundry lady's failings, so it'd be best not to tell anyone that.

Being an elf was boring anyway. Mostly she just took toys people handed towards them and was told to put them into different containers for boys and girls. Not that they let her do that right anyway, the boy who was helping her – dressed in a monkey suit like her Uncle Pietro, but with a doll’s smile – kept taking toys out of the bins and putting them in the opposite ones.

She'd been nice and trying to put them back where they were, as camera's flashed around them and adults talked, until he threw something from the girls bin into the boys with a rude look towards her. “Girl's don't play trains,” he told her with a wrinkled nose, as if she were as annoying as Jacob.

She snatched the toy train back from the boy's bin, and even managed to whack him on the arm with it before Aunt Ana intervened, lifting Lizzie up into her arms and walking away amidst protests that the boy was a stupidhead and she wasn't aiming for his arm, honest.

“You need to play nicely with other children, even stupid heads,” Aunt Ana told her.

Lizzie's reply was to stick her tongue out at the boy who was now trying not to look grumpy as camera's clicked and lights flashed.

“Elizabeth.”

“What? Trains aren’t just for boys. Rindy plays with them all the time.” Sometimes they used Lizzie’s soldiers and made them jump on the train to stop the bad guys onboard, like Daddy did sometimes, when he was on missions instead of dancing with ladies who needed new clothes.

“Yes, she does. But you can’t go around hitting everyone who disagrees with you.”

‘Why?”

“It’s not good, it won’t turn out well for you.”

“Mommy hits people all the time and she’s boss in charge of everyone now. It turned out for her.”

Aunt Ana laughed and said something in funny words Lizzie didn’t understand. The stupidhead boy didn’t deserve to play with the trains, Lizzie decided. If he ever tried to play with Rindy’s trains, Lizzie would whack him again. Rindy was too polite to do it.

It wasn't long before they had her taking photos with the tall elfs, with big smiles all around that were fake on some people but happy on others. The Darla Lady actually lifted her up onto her hip with a big smile that didn't seem fake, let the news people take a few photos, and used a few naughty words with one before winking at Lizzie and asking her not to tell her daddy.

Which was silly, daddy was only across the room, not out of town, he'd have to have heard them anyway.

“Are you a mommy?” Lizzie asked with curiosity as the reporter slunk away, with several others shooing him off or hissing at him quietly.

“Nope, and I have no plans on being one anytime soon, no matter how adorable the children I'm faced with.”

“Me neither,” Lizzie decided, thinking of Jacob and his smelly diapers.

“No? No children for you?”

Lizzie thought of the doll Rindy had from her birthday. She’d asked for a doll before but got a train set instead. “Well, maybe one, but I’d make sure it was a girl. Boys are dumb and gross.”

Darla Lady laughed. “What about your daddy, is he gross?”

Lizzie shrugged. “Sometimes. Daddies are different though.”

Darla Lady laughed again. “You got the right idea, kid.”

Being an elf wasn’t all that great, Lizzie decided. No wonder all the songs were about Santa, not his helpers. They didn’t even get to fly Santa’s sleigh, which daddy said he’d done the Christmas he almost missed Christmas. He had to help fly Santa’s sleigh so the bad guys wouldn’t shoot it down and that’s why he’d missed nonna’s dinner. He’d helped steer the reindeer but hadn’t said anything about the elves, and Lizzie finally understood why. Their job wasn’t all that great. It was sort of nice giving stuff away to people who needed it, but not very interesting.

She tried to tell this to daddy but he was busy in front of all the flashing cameras. Lizzie liked Aunt Therese’s camera better, it didn’t flash and make her eyes go funny when you took a picture. She told Aunt Ana instead,  and Aunt Ana got daddy (though it took forever) and they talked, and then daddy came over and asked if she wanted to go home.

“And play in the snow again when we get there?”

But daddy shook his head. “I’m staying here with Uncle Howard and Mr. Jarvis. There’s still lots of presents to wrap and things to do for the other kids.”

Lizzie thought about that. Mama would be practicing, like she always was, because she had to be Peter Pan on TV again soon. And Mommy would be busy with Jacob. She’d have no one to play with and told daddy so.

But daddy smiled at her and asked if she wanted to do another very big girl thing that Jake couldn’t do.

“Yes!” She’d be a baby again later.

Daddy said that he and Mommy and Mama were very busy this year, and did Lizzie want to do her own Christmas shopping? Lizzie said yes because who didn’t want to go shopping like a grownup? “Do I have to get something for Jacob too?”

“Only if you want.”

That seemed like a trick question. He’d probably just drool or pee on anything anyway, but she’d get him something if she remembered.

Aunt Ana went away for a minute and came back and said Aunt Rose was coming to get her, for shopping.

That too took forever, but Lizzie talked to Darla Lady some more while she waited. She had some funny stories about daddy that mommy and mama hadn’t told. Daddy muttered about things being classified, but Darla Lady waved him away.

“Oh go on, go play for the cameras, pretty boy. Chin up, smiles on, tits out, just like we practiced.”

Aunt Rose came before daddy had time to put his tits out again. Daddy hugged her and told her to be good for Aunt Rose.

“I’m always good.”

“Uh-huh.” Daddy passed Aunt Rose some money. “Peggy’s lucky to have you.”

“Oh, I know,” Aunt Rose said smiling, her red curls bouncing as she nodded. “We’ll have a grand time, won’t we Lizzie?”

“Yup, grand,” Lizzie said, taking the hand Aunt Rose held out.

* * *

 

Shopping, Lizzie decided, would be better if no one else was doing it. There were too many people all getting in her way and blocking the aisles and she had to stay by Aunt Rose or Aunt Rose would use the scary voice from work, not the regular Aunt Rose voice.

Still, Aunt Rose laughed and winked at her when she told about the boy and how he didn’t know anything about trains.

Lizzie wandered over to the book aisle, thinking she’d find something for Jacob after all. He was too little to like it, probably, but Lizzie could look at the pictures and make up a story for him, if her parents were too busy to read the real words. Plus, reading was quiet and Jacob could only do quiet things. And if he didn’t want the book, Lizzie would keep it.

She wasn’t great at reading yet. Words she didn’t know liked to get jumbled in her head. Rindy was better at it, but Rindy also had to go to school all day and couldn’t play with Lizzie most times because of it. Lizzie was thinking of what they’d do first now that Rindy’s school was out for Christmas when she saw the red, white, and blue, and her daddy’s name. She didn’t know all the words, but she knew those. And she didn’t have that book. She’d thought she had all the books about daddy, even though a page had fallen out of one and mama had to tape it back in.

“Aunt Rose, look!’

“Oh my! Would you look at that. You have that one in your collection yet?”

“No!” Lizzie ran forward when Aunt Rose let go of her hand, went to the display. She could get Jacob his first book about daddy, one that wasn’t even taped anywhere!

Her excitement didn’t last. The cover had caught her eye, but the inside pictures weren’t so great. Her daddy could draw much better. And he’d tell the story much better too. Lizzie couldn’t read all the words, but she knew some and she looked at the pictures and this was _not_ how the story had gone!

She almost threw the book aside, but Aunt Rose scolded her for that, with a little of the scary voice. Lizzie felt her face going hot. This was Jacob’s first Christmas, his very first, and it was supposed to be her first present to him. And even if he was loud and yucky and smelly, she’d save him from the goo monster, or the ugly bad guys on the pages. He deserved a good first present, not something that told lies about daddy. He’d get confused and he was just a silly boy who didn’t know things yet, and it wasn’t fair to try and trick him. Or the other kids who’d read it and wouldn’t have her around to tell how wrong it was.

Lizzie tried to tell this to Aunt Rose, but the words got jumbled and sticky in her mouth, and her face got hot, like Aunt Rose’s hair. Then a man in a stupid Santa hat came (he clearly wasn’t the real Santa, her daddy had flown with real Santa) and he was just annoying and talking to her like she was a silly little baby who didn’t know anything, even though Lizzie knew way more about the story than him.

It was stupid and the Santa hat man kept saying there were other books she could buy, but that wasn’t the point and no one would listen and Aunt Rose said she might tell mommy that Lizzie misbehaved. All when she was just trying to be good, like daddy said. It wasn’t fair!

And then while she was arguing with the stupid man, Rindy came! Lizzie ran to her and forgot about the stupid man, and she jumped on Rindy and gave her a big hug, even though daddy said she had to be careful about that, she was stronger than she felt sometimes. But Rindy never fell. Except for that once, but she’d gotten right back up again and Aunt Carol hadn’t seen, so it didn’t count for anything.

Rindy was with Aunt Carol’s friend, who Lizzie remembered enough even though she was supposed to come over for their Thanksgiving after Jacob was born, but hadn’t. Aunt Rose hadn’t either, but she gave Lizzie a treat next time she saw her, so it was okay.

Rindy asked why Lizzie was here and when she’d got here and Lizzie’s words got tangled as she remembered everything. Fun with daddy, then daddy and mommy being mad at her, then fun with daddy again, and the stupid boy elf messing up the trains, and Darla Lady, and Aunt Rose, and the dumb man in the Santa hat who wouldn’t listen to her.

Lizzie sighed like mama did when she was acting really loudly, like mommy did when the people at work weren’t listening right. At least Rindy always listened to Lizzie.  “You would not _believe_ the day I’ve had!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While things in this series are planned out to a certain extent, I'm always anxious to check out prompts, or just to hear from you guys. Hit me up on Tumblr if you're so inclined.
> 
> http://cblgblog.tumblr.com/


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, here we are, a Christmas fic wrapping up almost months after Christmas. But it’s fine, okay, it’s, totally fine. The next up in this series will be very different, and something I’ve wanted to get to for a long, long, long time. Guesses on that, requests for future installments, and most importantly feedback on this one, drop them in the comments section. And an infinite number of thanks goes to my partner in crime, who does an insane amount for this series in general, but here in particular really did so much of the work in making the child POV stuff awesome. You know who you are, and you are genius.
> 
> Everyone else, thanks so much for sticking it out with me, and I’ll catch you next time. (And yes, there will be more Carol/Therese next time :D )

Abby was more than a little impressed. At four, Lizzie was pretty damn good at storytelling. Sure she spoke too quickly at times and tripped over her words, but she’d already mastered the art of the dramatic pause. Though that was hardly shocking, given her parentage.

“You got to be an elf?” Rindy asked. “Aunt Abby was supposed to be my elf, but she didn’t wear any costumes.”

Rindy’s voice was faintly accusatory at this, her not dressing up when the women at Steve’s toy drive had. Abby smiled. “Maybe next year, munchkin.”

“Yes indeed,” Rose said. “It’s only fair, I’d say.”

Abby rolled her eyes, recalling how Lizzie had described Steve’s ‘elves’ and their too-tight outfits. “Uh-huh.”

Extracting promises that they would listen, stay within sight, and not destroy anything too expensive, Abby and Rose let the children go a bit ahead of them. Abby fell in step beside Rose.

 “So what’s a pretty girl like you doing in a hellhole like this?” she asked quietly, watching the kids chatter on as they weaved past adults and displays.

“Being a good aunt and employee. You?”

“Being a good aunt and godmother. And Christ is it terrible.”

Rose laughed, eyes sparkling behind her glasses. “I don’t know, altruism looks pretty good on you I’d say.”

“You’re biased. But yes, it does. Most things do. Is babysitting part of your contract?”

“No. It’s a nice break from what’s actually in my contract, and it gives Peggy a break from the sibling wars. Which makes her happy. Which makes her less likely to fire or kill us all when she checks in on things.”

Rose paused in her explanation long enough to order Lizzie to slow down. As they caught up, Abby heard the kids arguing over what to buy for whom.

“Ugh, this is dumb,” Lizzie said, throwing up her hands in a gesture big enough to match Angie’s most dramatic stage performances. “I’ll just get her a gun!”

“She’s talking about Peggy, right?” Abby asked.

“I would hope. Though Ana Jarvis is also a possibility. She’s done some amazing things with thigh holsters.”

“Oh,” Abby said, stretching the word out. “Do tell.”

“Don’t go getting any ideas. She’s blissfully in love with her husband, and unlike my boss, I don’t share well.”

Abby chuckled. “Nothing to worry about there.”

They walked side by side until a frazzled woman excused herself and apologized, forcing a gap between them. She was clutching a child who was so bundled up that Abby wondered how he could breathe, let alone move. She asked one of the hatted employees where the bathroom was and then rushed off, knocking something off of a display as she went.

Abby rolled her eyes. “God, no wonder working here gave Therese palpitations.”

“You own a shop, you work with customers all the time.”

“Not these customers.”

Rose looked around the store. “So this is where they met? I didn’t realize.”

“Oh yes, this is the store. ‘Therese?’” Abby said, imitating Carol, “’why, she just returned my gloves.’”

“You adore them and you know it.”

“Of  course I do. Doesn’t mean Carol’s not a terrible liar. Certainly couldn’t make it in your business.”

Rose widened her eyes behind her glasses. “My business? I work for the phone company.”

“Lizzie says you’re a spy.”

“Lizzie says her stuffed cat Reginald is the leader of a small country near Ireland.”

“But you do work for Peggy.”

“I transfer calls into her building. It’s easier to go with phone company, for Lizzie’s sake.”

“So, you’re not a spy.”

“Do I look like a spy”

“Does Angie look like a twelve-year-old boy? She’s made a career out of playing one.”

 “Can we talk about this later, please?”

“Oh, we will most definitely talk about it later. Meantime, what are we going to do about them?”  Abby nodded at the girls. “Think they’ll bust us?”

“Not if you behave yourself and act like a lady. So yes, they probably will.”

“Peggy should fire you.”

“If she hasn’t fired Dottie yet, she won’t be firing me. We could just tell them.”

“We could. God knows I’ve been telling Carol everything the moment it happens since we were ten.”

“So why not now?”

Abby shrugged, gave Rose a small smile. “It’s fun having a bit of a secret, change of pace. And I don’t need her giving me grief.”

“About what?”

“Using a baby’s birth to get a date.” In fairness, it wasn’t planned. She’d come to Peggy’s home to drop off a last piece of furniture for the nursery and as she was leaving, Rose was arriving with the first of many gifts for Jacob. She’d gotten lucky, that was all, though not properly lucky until later that week.

“Didn’t she get a date while she was supposed to be shopping for Rindy?”

“Yes, but she likes to pretend she wasn’t aiming for one at the time, and she’s a terrible hypocrite. You can tell Peggy, you know, if you really want to.”

Rose waved a hand. “Are you kidding? Nearly ten years I’ve known her and this is the first time she’s been too distracted not to know everything about everything, whether it was her business or not. Every day she goes without knowing will make it that much more fun telling her later.”

“Devious,” Abby said with a nod of approval.

“So, did I hear right? You came here from Harge’s?”

“Rindy needed someone to help her buy presents.”

“And Harge asked you?”

“I believe he asked Carol first, wanted her to broker a deal, but she said he’d have to ask me himself.”

“How did that work out?”

“Hargess Aird coming into my shop unexpectedly? The last time he did that, he swore at me.”

“Pig. Don’t you swear at him all the time?”

“Not at my place of business.”

“Ah. So how did it go?”

“Harge asking me for a favor and bringing Rindy into it so I couldn’t say no? Hell, it was pure hell. But I did get him to grovel a bit, so that was a nice little early Christmas gift.”

“Mmm. Where’s my gift by the way? I hope you’re picking something nice.”

“Oh, I am. Much nicer than anything from here. Especially now that I know about Ana and those holsters. So if you were a spy—”

“Would I really tell you in the middle of Frankenberg’s department store?”

“Well—”

“Excuse me! Alto lesbica!”

They looked around to see Lizzie eyeing Abby while pointing at one of the high bookshelves and standing on tiptoe.

Abby’s eyebrows rose. She looked at Rose, at Lizzie. “You talking to me, kid?”

“Yes,” Lizzie said, drawing the word out. “Alto lesbica. Auntie Rose is short—”

“Well pardon me,” Rose grumbled.

“-and you guys aren’t paying attention to us.”

“Oh, God forbid. Did you need something?” Abby drawled.

“I can’t reach.”

Rindy giggled, repeated and mangled the bit of Italian Lizzie used. “Her name’s Aunt Abby, silly.”

“Oh,” Lizzie said. “Aunt Abby, I can’t reach!”

Abby rolled her eyes and stepped forward. “Oh, well God forbid.”

Rindy laughed again. “What’s lesbica?”

“An annoyance,” Lizzie said on a dramatic sigh.

Rose cleared her throat and stepped forward. She stopped Abby from handing of the book, knelt at the waist in front of Lizzie. “I think you’ve been listening to mama and nonna a bit too much,” she said quietly, “and I don’t think you listen enough to actually know what you’re saying. And I think you should talk to your mama about which words are okay to use in public. Yes?”

Lizzie’s look changed, her eyes darting between Rose and Abby. “Sorry,” she said quietly, to Abby.

Abby smiled, handed the book over. “Apology accepted. Shorty.”

Lizzie scowled briefly, then smiled, took the book and returned to Rindy with a ‘thank you’ shot over her shoulder.

“Sorry,” Rose said, shaking her head.

“It’s fine, I’ve heard worse.” Rindy had happily referred to her as a jezebel once, after hearing it from her grandmother and thinking it a pretty name.

“You know what she said?”

“I’ve been to Europe three times, I picked up enough Italian. And it wasn’t exactly a false statement.” She wasn’t a particularly tall lesbian, but compared to Rose, and from Lizzie’s point of view, sure. “And what about you, Miss Roberts, how much traveling have you done?”

Rose shrugged. “I’ve been a few places, here and there.”

“On your own, or courtesy of the phone company?”

Rose sighed loudly enough to rival Lizzie.

* * *

 Shopping made Carol nervous. The bigger the crowd, the longer the outing, the more cigarettes Carol required to get through it. Shopping did not make Abby nervous, and today was no exception. She was not nervous, just exhausted and slightly insane.

Harge had payment arrangements with Frankenberg’s and Macy’s, but those were not the only stores they visited. There were three or four others, each crowded with fools like them who’d put off shopping until the last minute. Or fools like her, who were roped into cruel and unusual punishments.

Rindy had technically gotten most of her gifts at Frankenberg’s already, but Lizzie had an absolutely obscene number of people to buy for, even if she did seem to be picking and choosing which of her uncles was worthy of a gift. And this reminded Rindy of all the other people she had to buy for, and nearly forgotten, Miss Lilah of the mysterious missing shoes included.

Besides that, Lizzie could not settle on a gift for Jacob. The Cap book she’d yelled about at the store obviously hadn’t made the cut. She talked endlessly about how loud and disgusting and generally useless he was, but insisted that he get a proper present. It would be sweet if it didn’t mean scouring half the city.

The exotic animals section at one place was the last straw. Rose explained that a tiger cub probably wasn’t the best gift for a newborn. Lizzie backing down on that had less to do with Rose and more with a realization that Uncle Howard had a better selection of semi-dangerous household pets, and wouldn’t charge for them.

Abby was very tempted to buy Rindy something from that establishment. Harge’s face would be worth nearly any price. Except she’d also have Carol’s face to contend with.

It was decided after the pet store that each pair would go home, store their respective presents, and meet again later. Carol was doing end of year chores at the shop, so Abby had some time before she was meant to drop Rindy off.

“Where are we going?” she asked when the address Rose gave was unfamiliar.

“You’ll see,” Rose answered with an enigmatic twist to her lips.

Damn that woman, Abby thought as she sat in her car with Rindy a few hours later, the heater on full blast, the radio playing Christmas songs. They were sitting in a parking lot, waiting on Rose and Lizzie because Abby had shown early. Pulling out her compact, she checked her appearance in the fading evening light.

“You look pretty, Aunt Abby,” Rindy said, pausing in her hummed rendition of the song on the radio.

Abby smiled wide at her, adjusted the tiny winter hat she wore. “Oh I know, darling, I always look pretty. And so do you.”

Shopping did not make Abby nervous. Rose made Abby nervous. Women did not make Abby nervous, but Rose did. Like a fucking schoolgirl, good lord.

Barely a month and she was much too far gone. Enough so that it was another reason she hadn’t told Carol. She simply did not fall like this, this hard, this fast. Not since she really was a schoolgirl and it was Carol on the other side of her affections. Unlike Carol though, Rose seemed to return them whole-heartedly. She certainly had on the weekend of Peggy’s late Thanksgiving/early Christmas. Which Abby felt no guilt over whatsoever. Who hadn’t bowed out of a less appealing social engagement to have glorious sex for three days?

She felt no guilt over the act (acts, really, many acts), but a slight pang at recalling it in such detail while Rindy was singing ‘Jingle Bells’ next to her.

Oh well.

Her last redhead had been the steakhouse gal a few years ago, when Carol and Therese were first sorting themselves out. Hadn’t lasted, but they were on good terms and Abby could still get a table there anytime she wanted. She remembered sitting with Carol, cautioning her not to hurt Therese (for all the good that did), Carol asking her if she could handle a redhead.

A horn honked, caught her attention. Rose’s car pulled in near hers, Rose and Lizzie both waving. Abby watched as she expertly wrestled a squirming Lizzie out of her carseat, pulled a scarf around Lizzie’s neck. The woman was gifted with knots, in a way Abby truly should not be dwelling on right now.

She could handle redheads. This one, even if she wasn’t a spy?

Abby checked her hair one more time.

Christ was she screwed.

* * *

 Carol liked to joke that Abby knew everyone and everything that was worth knowing about in New York. Well, Carol thought she was joking. Abby prided herself on knowing about every party, every hidden gem, hole in the wall. Mostly she liked knowing where she could take a girl out dancing without stones being thrown.

Abby had not known about this.

Not far from the lot Rose had sent them to was a sort of Christmas market. Holiday tunes played softly from somewhere, in a language Abby didn’t recognize. There were small, individual stalls selling all manner of things. The whole thing was tucked in, half-hidden between a series of taller buildings that Abby may’ve passed once or twice but never actually looked at. Strings of fairy lights dotted the darkened sky.

“It’s quaint,” Abby said as Rindy and Lizzie made noises of awe and excitement.

‘Oh, don’t be a snob,” Rose said, then reminded Lizzie to hold her hand. “Beats the heck out of Macy’s and Frankenberg’s.”

“It does,” Abby said with a smile, though Rose hadn’t asked.

Holding Rindy’s hand, Abby hooked her free arm into Rose’s, while Rose held on to Lizzie. No one looked twice at two friends and their girls keeping warm in the night. The place certainly smelled better than Macy’s or Frankenberg’s, with their perfume sections that Rindy hated. They bought hot apple cider with cinnamon sticks, and Rindy pretended to drink coffee like her parents did in the mornings.

Lizzie pulled them over to another stall with a delicious scent coming from it. The couple manning it sold pastries, a kind Abby had never seen before, but Lizzie insisted they must purchase.

“For Aunt Therese!” she said, then looked at them like they were all imbeciles when no one understand why. “They’re Czech,” she said rather impatiently. “Aunt Therese is Czech, I heard! We have to get her some, remind her of home!”

Abby did not tell Lizzie that the home she had now was the only one Therese ever bothered to claim. She was moderately sure that the pastry, something called kolach, was as foreign to Therese as it was to her She was also pretty sure that Lizzie had a more experienced palate at four than Therese had as an adult. But the pastries smelled good and the thought was nice, so they bought a bag’s worth.

Children both younger and older than their girls laughed and called out to parents to buy this or that. There was English, but also several languages Abby didn’t know, could only guess at sounding Eastern European. Nothing from any part of Europe she’d been to.  She learned something new about Lizzie though. The girl knew enough Italian to lapse into it sometimes, when she was excited. Rindy sulked a bit at not understanding the words, whined, but Lizzie didn’t seem to know she was doing it.

Abby set about detailing any minor tantrums. She found a booth that sold beautiful, handmade ornaments, miles above anything at Frankenberg’s. Carol had received something similar for Rindy’s first Christmas. Bright and gorgeous, with Rindy’s baby photo and her name, her birthday. From Harge’s mother of all people, Abby called it a holiday miracle, the old hag showing a kindness. Carol treasured it, gave it pride of place every year. Until Harge left and took it with him. It hadn’t graced Carol’s tree since the Christmas before the divorce.

Abby took Rindy over.

“Daddy didn’t leave any money for this place,” Rindy said.

“Don’t worry, munchkin, I’ve got this one.”

Rindy grinned at her, looked like she wanted to say something else, then tugged Abby down to whisper in her ear.

Abby smiled. “Clever girl. We can do that.”

There was a slight hitch when Abby realized that the man running the booth didn’t speak a word of English. Then Rose stepped in and spoke in one of those vaguely eastern European languages, as if she did it every day. The man smiled and nodded enthusiastically, and Rose told her to go on and tell him what she’d like.

“You learn that at the phone company too?” Abby asked, couldn’t help it.

“Lots of people call the phone company, lots of people don’t speak English,” Rose said with a dismissive gesture. “Get on with it then, don’t keep this nice man standing in the cold for nothing.”

Abby let Rindy choose what sort of ornament she liked. She carefully wrote out Carol’s name, then Therese’s, on a pad the man passed over. That was Rindy’s idea. She thought that after several Christmases with them, Mama should get to be on an ornament. She wrote and spelled the names aloud, with Rose repeating the letters in whatever that language was they taught at the phone company. She did the same for Rindy, frowning a bit, as she was told she always did, when saying the full thing out loud. Nerinda Abigail Aird. It was quite the compliment, really, and she knew it would bother Harge until his dying day, so that was something. But having her name so close together with Harge’s always made Abby feel slightly ill.

Lizzie had a different reaction. She stared at Rindy as though the child had grown a second head.

“Your name is Nerinda?”

Rindy scowled. “Only sometimes,” she muttered. “When I’m in trouble.”

“Ne…Ne…Nerinda!”

Lizzie laughed so hard Abby thought she might hurt herself. Rindy continued to scowl and told her to shut up, a phrase Abby was sure she’d never utter with her grandparents in earshot.  Lizzie was definitely having an effect on her.

“Careful there, Lizzie,” said Rose. “Giggling so hard, carrying on so much, you don’t want to pee yourself, do you?”

It was Rindy’s turn to giggle. Lizzie made a face at Rose and told her to stop being embarrassing. Then she flopped down on the ground and lay in the snow, which had Rindy following her and all seemingly forgiven.

And Peggy was supposed to be the diplomatic expert.

When she’d calmed down some, Lizzie tugged on Rose’s hand, asked if they too could get an ornament. “That can be a present for Jakey,” she declared. “And Mommy and Mama and Daddy too.”

“Very efficient,” Rose said, sharing an amused look with Abby. “Your mother would approve.”

Lizzie nodded sagely. “He can have something nice with his name on it for Christmas, and we can put one of Aunt Therese’s pictures in it. She took lots of pictures of him.”

“She did indeed,” Abby said. Apparently Lizzie had had a minor meltdown over Jacob being in front of Therese’s camera more than her, though Therese insisted she’d been careful about that. It’d be nice, Abby thought, to forgive grudges as easily as the girls did.

Nice, but not nearly as fun.

Rindy was shivering some after crawling around in the snow so Abby pulled her hat down further around her ears and made her put on her gloves. Lizzie had taken off the scarf Rose so carefully tied so she could whip it around behind her. If she was cold at all, she didn’t show it.

There must’ve been a contest sometime earlier, given the row of snowmen the kids fell in love with. While Lizzie was telling Rindy how they could steal Steve’s shield and old combat helmet and make their own creation at her house, Rose pulled Abby aside. They could still see and hear the girls chattering, but they were in a semi-secluded alley, near one of the empty stalls. The fairy lights danced and reflected off Rose’s glasses.

“So,” Rose said. “My sources tell me you’re a bit of a Scrooge.”

Abby rolled her eyes. ‘Your sources. At the phone company.”

‘Let’s not talk about the phone company right now.”

“You said we’d talk later.”

“And we will talk. Later.”

“Alright then, Miss Roberts. What would you like to talk about?”

“What do you think?” She gestured at their surroundings. “I know it’s not your usual, I know how much you like to show off.”

“I do not show off!”

“You do, though.”

Abby blew out a breath that came out steamy in the cold. “Well, what is the point of being a spoiled trust fund baby if you’re not allowed to show off?”

Rose chuckled, checked to see they weren’t being watched. “You’re more than that.”

“Am I really? Your sources say that too?”

“No, no I said that. Scrooge.”

 “Hey!”

Rose ignored her. Rose, in fact, pulled her down and kissed her under the Christmas lights, setting loose an army of butterflies in her stomach. Fucking butterflies.

God, she was so screwed.

* * *

 “Mommy!” Rindy yelled, launching herself at Carol the moment the door was open.

“There’s my girl!” Carol lifted Rindy off the ground, making the girl’s snow-speckled hat fall to the floor. “Oh, there’s my baby! Did you have fun with Aunt Abby?”

“Of course she did,” Abby said, smiling as she closed the door behind them. She nodded at Therese who was sitting at the kitchen table. Carol never smiled in quite this way, with her whole face, her whole being, unless Rindy and Therese were both there.

Setting Rindy down, Carol tried helping her off with her coat as she twirled excitedly. “And did Aunt Abby keep the top up while she drove?”

“Yes,” Rindy said, disappointed. “But she used naughty words on some of the cars in our way,” she added, happier.

Carol sighed. “Of course she did.”

“They were in my way.” Abby shrugged.

“Peace on Earth and good will towards men?”

“Most men don’t deserve my good will. Especially the ones who can’t drive.” Abby shifted the pastries they’d brought back from one hand to the other. “Got you something, big time newspaper lady,” she told Therese.

Rindy, still with one arm tangled in her jacket, jumped up to grab the bag from Abby and run to Therese. “I want to give them to Mama!” Rindy presented the bag with a grin.  “See, Mama?”

“They’re Czech,” Abby said, could tell that she’d been right and Therese had never seen these things in her life. “Like you.”

Therese smiled thanks at her, a different smile at Rindy. “Thank you, sweetheart. Where did you manage to find these?”

“And more importantly, why is she the only one getting early presents?” Carol asked, feigning annoyance.

“Don’t pout, I’ll split one with you. If you’re good,” Therese added.

“Don’t worry, Mommy. We got you all kinds of good presents. We—”

“Hey,” Abby said. “You hush up, missy. You can keep a secret for a few days, can’t you?”

In truth, Abby sincerely doubted this, but Rindy laughed and then made a big production of zipping her lips and tossing the key. She was talking again two seconds later. “Mommy, we saw Lizzie!”

“You did?” Carol asked. “Already?”

That was the go ahead for Rindy to launch into a rapid, rambling narrative of the day’s events. She showed no inkling of seeing anything funny going on between Abby and Rose, which didn’t surprise Abby, given the Lilah situation.

“Mommy!” Rindy said suddenly, “teach me Italian!”

Carol blinked. “I’m afraid I don’t know much Italian, sweet pea, only a few words. I know French,” Carol said in response to Rindy’s look. “I could teach you French.”

Rindy gave her another look, supremely unimpressed, turned to Therese. “Teach me Italian, Mama?”

“Sorry, Rindy, I know even less Italian than your mom.”

Rindy sighed. “Does anyone know anything good around here?”

“I know a few words in Czech that my dad used to say to my mom. But you don’t get to hear those.”

Rindy sulked briefly until Therese led her to her room to help her change and ask more about her day. She left a trail of snow in her wake.

“Italian?” Carol said.

“Lizzie speaks it. Or enough of it to make Rindy feel left out.”

“Oh. Of course she does,” Carol said, hanging up the winter hat Rindy had abandoned. “How was Rindy otherwise?”

“Oh, she was a delight, she always is. Doesn’t mean I’m ever doing that again.”

Carol chuckled. “It’s the elf thing, isn’t it?”

“The elf thing, and having to play nice with your oaf ex.”

“Abby,” Carol said, looking toward Rindy’s room.

“You asked.”

“I did. And I’m sure that neither of you played nice.”

“He’s not dead, is he? There’s a new blonde bimbo in town, by the way.”

Carol’s eyebrows lifted, “I thought your latest was a redhead?”

Abby was careful not to react to that. “Not me, your ex.”

Carol stopped examining the bag of Czech pastries. “Harge?”

Abby rolled her eyes. “No, nitwit. The pimple-faced boy who tried to feel you up in Cape Cod the summer you hit puberty.”

“Harge is seeing someone?”

“His secretary, I guess. Very original.”

“Huh,” Carol said. “Well that’s, new.”

“Not that new, from what I saw.”

“What’s she like?”

“Some kind of accent she tries to cover, German, I think. Tall, pretty, blonde You, with nicer boobs.”

“Abby!”

“Excuse me. Bigger boobs. Bigger doesn’t always mean nicer. You’ll have to ask Harge about that.”

Carol glanced towards Rindy’s room again, then gave Abby the finger. “A tall, blonde secretary who looks like me. Really?”

Abby shrugged. “Everyone has a type, I suppose.”

Hers, her type was definitely redheads. One in particular, who may or may not be some kind of secret agent woman.

Screwed, she was so screwed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While things in this series are planned out to a certain extent, I'm always anxious to check out prompts, or just to hear from you guys. Hit me up on Tumblr if you're so inclined.
> 
> http://cblgblog.tumblr.com/

**Author's Note:**

> While things in this series are planned out to a certain extent, I'm always anxious to check out prompts, or just to hear from you guys. Hit me up on Tumblr if you're so inclined.
> 
> http://cblgblog.tumblr.com/


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